My husband recently underwent open-heart surgery because of several significantly blocked vessels to his heart. Earlier on in our relationship, 4 years ago, we identified changes that he needed to make with his diet and his exercise regime to help extend his lifespan.
As with any new lifestyle change, the beginning was an uphill battle. But he stuck with the plan and made significant changes. But it was not enough. The damage was already done.
Thankfully, however, his new doctor commandeered several tests that eventually got him the surgical procedure required to avert a massive heart attack.
We are grateful.
Truth be told, your genes may be a factor but how you live is a major contributor to the state of your health, and may determine several adverse events in your life.
Here’s another truth….. this is not a quick fix. It requires long term commitment.
Healthy living requires healthy habits and healthy people practice healthy habits.
On a whole, improving your health should include all aspects of your wellbeing: physical, mental, social, spiritual and financial.
This includes getting enough sleep, managing stress levels, avoiding unhealthy behaviors, managing your diet, and getting enough exercise.
These are not easy decisions or habits to develop and practice, but they are well worth the price.
Start by making a few simple changes to your day, then over time, you’ll find it a lot easier to incorporate a few more healthy habits into your routine.
The beauty about developing good habits is that, after doing them repeatedly, they soon become automatic.
Building slowly over time will help you replace the bad habit, in a relatively painless way, with something good and healthy that you’ll be able to stick with.
Benjamin Franklin had a great plan for overcoming his bad habits and replacing them with good ones. He developed a process and a list of 13 virtues he felt was important in his life, then he focused on changing one virtue each week for a 13 week period. This strategy can work for anyone.
Make your own list and develop a plan of action that will work for you.
Change can come in many forms in our lives.
It might come forcefully like a tidal wave, or creep up on you like a glacier. It might come in the form of a devastating tragedy, or a difficult choice, or a broken relationship, or a new opportunity.
But even though change can be difficult, many times it’s also for the best.
And it’s always best to make the lifestyle change intentionally, instead of life’s events making the changes for you.
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Until next time…..
Agree or disagree…. I love your comments! Share your thoughts in the comment section below.
I look forward to hearing from you!!!
Althea
Connecting people, ideas, and resources so that a person’s life is better because I helped them make the right connection!!
